An Apple A Day
by ToTheWeaselMobile
Summary: Tired of all the recognition he has received after the events of TLO. Percy has left Camp Half-Blood for the quiet of the country, but will the arrival of an old friend bring new enemies to the surface? AU TLH never took place.


Disclaimer – I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians… unless you count the mass produced paperback.

This story takes place after TLO, but takes an AU twist down a roller coaster.

This is my first fanfiction, and all mistakes are mine and mine alone.

Chapter One – The Garden

Percy wandered through the garden. It had been several years since he had been here, but the garden hadn't changed one bit. He could hear Atlas' curses from here as he struggled with his curse.

Percy's eyes zeroed in on his prize, The Apples of Immortality. He then glanced at the pile of spaghetti resting under the tree. He eyed the dragon wearily, knowing that Ladon wasn't actually asleep.

Percy took a deep breath and closed his eyes in concentration. He had learned several new tricks since leaving the camp. Poseidon wasn't just god of the seas. He also occasionally shook the earth. Soon, the earth trembled slightly and then began to divide. The earth split open with a loud rumble and shot towards Ladon. Before the dragon could react he was in a fissure in the ground. It wasn't a big earthquake, but it was enough to distract the dragon.

Percy watched as Ladon strained to pull himself out of the crevice. Ladon hissed at him, the dragon's breath almost enough to knock him out. Percy stuck his tongue out at the dragon and launched himself towards the tree with a slab of rock. He quickly snatched an apple and let out loud whistle.

A black shape bolted out of the sky and grabbed Percy just as Ladon pulled himself free of the earth.

_That was a close one, Boss!_

"Tell me about it," Percy chuckled and eyed his prize. He took in a deep breath and took a bite. Expecting to feel pain, like he had with the Styx, Percy was pleasantly surprised when it filled him with a warm feeling. He finished the apple and the core turned into vapor surrounding him and soaking into his skin.

Percy watched as his skin shone with a golden light and went back to normal. "Whoa," he said, as he glanced around, smelling the ozone in the air. Lightning was flashing and thunder was rumbling all around. Zeus was a little upset. _Okay, maybe a lot upset. _Percy amended as Blackjack narrowly avoided being hit with lightning.

_Um… Boss, where to now?_

"Home."

_Can we stop for doughnuts? I'm famished._

Percy chuckled and said, "Why not."

They landed on the roof of a doughnut shop in a small town in Mississippi. Percy slid off Blackjack and walked to the edge of the roof and jumped down. He didn't feel a thing. Whether that was because of the apple or his swim in the Styx, he wasn't sure. Percy shrugged and went into the store and glanced at all the early morning workers, most of them regulars.

"Good morning, Percy!" the girl at the counter smiled at him, "The usual?"

"Yes, thank you," he replied. He glanced at his watch.

_5:30, geez, I can't wait to go to sleep. It's been a long day._

"Here ya' go, Percy!" the girl handed him his food and his coffee. He paid quickly and left.

He walked around to the back of the building and stood in a puddle of water that was left from the rain storm yesterday. He glanced around to make sure that there was no one watching and willed the water to rise and carry him to the roof. When he saw Blackjack he couldn't help but chuckle. The pegasus was balancing on the air conditioner like a ginormous pigeon.

"What are you doing?" Percy managed to get out through his laughter.

_Freaking out the locals._

"Why?"

'_Cause it's fun._

"Okay, but I don't think you can eat doughnuts sitting like that," Percy laughed as Blackjack fumbled to get down.

_MMM… Sugar. You're the best, Boss!_

Percy grabbed his two blueberry jelly filled and his croissant and let Blackjack at the rest. If they ever had to fight giant doughnuts he was letting Blackjack take the lead. He was downright terrifying when he ate the sweet pastry. Percy shook his head and began eating. They quickly finished and threw away the trash.

_To the house!_

"Yes, sleep now," Percy tiredly climbed onto Blackjack. The pegasus took off and headed toward the Mississippi River, which was only a mile or so from the doughnut shop. When they saw the river Blackjack headed north, keeping parallel to the water. They continued another mile and landed in a clearing in the woods.

The clearing held a small cabin and a garage. There was no way for a car to get to the cabin seeing as the road was long since overgrown with foliage and a few small pine and oak trees. The cabin having been abandoned decades ago looked new because of Percy's dedication in cleaning it and fixing it.

This is where he had lived ever since he had left camp. It had been a couple of months after the war that he had left. He had grown frustrated of the 'fame' he received from his win against Kronos. He got sick of being reminded every day of the battle, mainly from his girlfriend at the time. So, he broke it off with Annabeth and left the camp.

Percy had planned to head back after a week, but he found this place and fell in love with it. He was now eighteen and had been gone for two years. He made sure he kept in touch with his mother and Chiron so they didn't worry. He loved that he felt no pressure to protect the camp. He loved the small town and the people in it.

Mississippi was so far apart from the hustle and bustle of New York it seemed like a different time period. That's why he had stolen and eaten the apple, so he could enjoy this for the rest of time.

Perhaps, it wasn't the most thought out plan, but Percy was known to be impulsive. Now he could protect this piece of nature forever.

_Wow, I sound like Grover, _Percy thought as he opened the garage door for Blackjack. The pegasus walked in and started munching on some hay that was in there. Percy chuckled and headed inside to his room and flopped down on the mattress. He sighed contentedly.

"I wondered when you would follow in my footsteps," a voice said in the direction of the window. Percy jumped about a foot off the bed and reached for Riptide. Then he recognized the voice.

"Nico?" he called, "Seriously, I almost turned you into swiss cheese!"

Nico was laughing, "You should have seen your face!"

"Yeah, yeah, keep on laughing, I'll get you back," Percy grumbled, and then his tired brain caught up with what Nico had said. "What do you mean followed in your footsteps?"

"You think you're the only one who has stolen from the Garden of the Hesperides?"

"You did?" Percy was now wide awake.

"Dad made me do it. Said 'If Zeus has an immortal child then so shall I' or something like that," Nico grumbled.

"So he forced you to eat the apple?"

"Nope, I ate it all on my own," Nico suddenly smirked, "Just wait until you find out what you can do."

"Do?" Percy's head tilted to the side, like one of those videos of confused animals.

"Oh yeah, you get powers. You practically become a god. You're just not official," Nico grinned at the prospect of teaching Percy, and possibly pranking him.

"What?"

"I'll explain it later. Sleep. You're going to need it."

Percy rolled his eyes and mumbled something about how Nico wasn't the boss of him, but he went ahead and laid down. He was asleep within five minutes.

Reviews are welcome. Tell me if you like the story and creative criticism is nice, but flames will be used to make my strawberry banana rainbow cakes.


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